Cold Rain slashed against the stained glass. Jack closed his eye
sockets. The percussive rhythm reminded him of applause.
Thousands of tiny palms meeting in admiration. He grinned, and
then opened his eye sockets again.
The weather was quite typical for a Halloweentown night.
Cold and stormy. The thunder would soon roll in. Breathing a
low, growling sigh, Jack turned to look at his wife.
Sally sat on the edge of the bed. Her long hair was still
damp from the bath and she carefully detangled it with a silver
comb. She sat close enough to the fire that it's glow played on
her pale scarred cheeks. The warmth sped the drying of her
locks, but she was mindful to keep a safe distance given her
rather flammable construction. She felt Jack's gaze upon her and
looked up. He moved beside her. His skeletal fingers took the
comb and he tenderly continued her task.
"You always look so breath-taking in the fire light my
angel.", Jack whispered against her neck. Sally giggled and
pressed her wine colored lips to his. He laid the comb aside and
slowly wrapped his long arms about her.

They were interrupted by a mournful whimper emanating from
across the hall.

Sally looked up with a start. It had been a tiny, soft,
question of a noise. The royal couple knew that sound well.
They knew that should this faint question go unanswered, it would
rise to a wail. A wail that would shake the window panes and
echo all the way up to Jack's tower study. What else could one
expect from a son of the great pumpkin king?
Jack and Sally slipped out of their embrace and followed the
cry into the nursery room. Both of their twins were awake and
squirming.
"Oh, what's the matter tiny ones?", cooed Sally. "Mommy
and Daddy are here. You're safe."
Halloween's illustrious king and his gentle queen had been
parents for just over six months. Side by side they mastered the
arts of cuddling, consoling and changing. Jack found it a
challenging transition from his duties as demon of darkest terror
to nurturing daddy. Sally faced her own difficulties. In so
many ways she was still new to the world herself. Now she was a
mother.
"You're still better at this than I.", Jack whispered with
a wink. Little Nicholas had fallen back to sleep nestled in
Sally's arms. Held by his father, Jack Jr. yawned and rubbed his
eye sockets, but remained awake and restless.
"I think it's simple physiology really, the king
continued. "Your lovely rag-doll form is much softer that my
skeletal frame."
Sally simply smiled. She brushed Nicky's skull with a soft
kiss and laid him back in the crib. She leaned against Jack's
side and sang softly. In a matter of moments, his majesty's
namesake had drifted off. He was placed by his brother's side
and Jack led his wife back to their room. As they climbed into
their four-poster, Jack scratched his skull and said
thoughtfully:
"I suppose my parents, where-ever they exist, are most
amused by how my little heirs seem to delight in their ability to
make us drop everything and race to the nursery."
"You think you were the same?", Sally asked with a grin.
"I trust I was probably worse than both our little monsters
combined."
Sally laughed at this.
"Mmm...but really, we have such good little princes." She
lay against Jack's ribs. They were silent for a time, listening
to the rain, watching the dying fire-light paint the canopy.
"Our anniversary is approaching.", Jack said suddenly.
"What would you like to do?"
Sally didn't answer immediately and Jack wondered if she was
already asleep. Finally she shrugged and hugged him tighter.
"You know I'd be happy with anything we do together Jack."
He kissed her head. As they lay in the dark quiet, he tried to
come up with an inspired plan to commemorate the day of their
union. Before long however, Jack's eye lids grew heavy. He
stroked Sally's hair for a few more moments before succumbing to
a thick, heavy sleep.